Peter’s Questionable Choice in Spider-Man: Far From Home

Recently, I had a discussion with a friend of mine about Spider-Man: Far From Home. Now, we went to the theater together to see it when it first came out and we were ranting and raving. It was a pretty awesome movie to us. I talk to this friend a week later and they had decided to demote the rating of the movie after a second viewing because they didn’t really agree with the fact that Peter Parker decided to give EDITH to Mysterio. I respect a lot of opinions, but this one caused a bit of contention between us. Pull up a seat, and kick back and relax while I take you on a ride into the Peter Parker’s motives as to why he chose to give Quentin Beck the glasses instead of keeping them for himself.

So, Spider-Man: Far From Home takes place after approximately nine months after Avengers: Endgame, in a world where the Avengers defeated Thanos and brought back everyone that disappeared in the “Blip” as they called it. This victory didn’t come without a cost, however, as Tony Stark was lost in the battle. But, from that lost came gain, half the life in the universe was returned. Posthumously, Tony gifted Peter a pair of sunglasses that housed the computer AI, EDITH (Even in Death, I’m The Hero). EDITH has access to everything: intel databases on everyone, weapons, all of Stark Enterprises, the works. This was a very powerful tool that Peter inherited. After working with Quentin Beck (Mysterio) and forming a sort of bond, Peter decided that Beck would be better suited hero to wield EDITH.

Peter is being criticized for his decision, but what is failed to be realized is that Peter is a teenager! Having just helped save the world, Peter just wanted to lead the life of a normal teenager. His hormones are popping like some Crisco and he just wants to do regular degular teenage things. Throughout the beginning of the film, all he says is that all he wants to do is give MJ a black dahlia pendant on top of the Eiffel Tower and make her his girlfriend.

I mean, can you blame Peter for feeling how he felt? Ever since his Uncle Ben died, Peter has been haunted by the phrase, “With great power comes great responsibility”. He’s carried that weight ever since and has had trouble balancing his hero life and his civilian life. That is not an easy feat for most superheroes, let alone a teenager. Furthermore, how many people were just infallible at the age of sixteen? You may have thought you weren’t capable of being wrong, but life would surely correct you. Peter is no different. He may have saved the world a time or two, but he is still learning, growing, and maturing. Making mistakes is just a part of the process.

Furthermore, Quentin Beck seemed like a straight shooter. Us, the viewers, know that Mysterio is full of shit, but for the characters that were just encountering him for the first time, he seemed to check out. He gave the story that he was from another dimension and even had Shield and “Nick Fury” fooled. So, if he was legit in Nick Fury’s eyes, then there was no reason for Peter to question Mysterio’s hero authenticity, especially since Mysterio was defeating all of the Elementals. After doing some heavy pondering, Peter came to the conclusion that Iron Man left him the glasses and that they were given to him to give to someone else who was deemed worthy. And so with that, Peter thought he was doing the right thing, while at the same time selfishly shrugging off his responsibilities as a hero.

Peter eventually comes to realize the fault in his decision and goes about taking actions to correct it. He is successful and regains the EDITH sunglasses after a much laborious battle. And this is one of the awesome things about Peter Parker/Spider-Man – he struggles to be a good person and he may falter, but that doesn’t mean he won’t try to correct his behavior and make amends. That’s why it’s unfair to call his choices uncharacteristic. Peter is no angel – and he knows this, but he attempts to be the best person that he can be.